Penang getting richer at residents’ cost, claims MCA rep

December 5, 2013 4:24 AM

32
0

Chua Tee Yong said Penangites will become poorer in the long run because the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government was more interested in enriching its coffers the easy way, through the sale of limited land. — Picture by K.E. OoiKUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — Penang’s wealth from selling off precious land comes at the expense of residents who are finding it pricier to afford homes in the northern state, MCA’s Datuk Chua Tee Yong said today.

The chairman of the MCA Young Professionals Bureau suggested that Penangites will become poorer in the long run because the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government was more interested in enriching its coffers the easy way, through the sale of limited land.

“In long term, the state government will be richer but the people will be poorer. This is because state government earns their income from selling land but the people [grow] poorer as they need to pay a higher price for home ownership,” Chua said.

His statement today came on the heels of a Penang Umno delegate who complained that Malays in the northern state were being priced out of owning homes there due to the DAP-led state government’s policies. Chua noted the lack of affordable housing in Penang, and said low wage earners were were affected as developers were forced to pass on the high costs used in buying up the land to house buyers.

The Labis MP appeared to suggest that the DAP-led government was neglecting its responsibilities in providing affordable housing to Penang residents, insisting that it could still gain profits without selling land if it cooperated with developers.Earlier in the statement, Chua attacked the Penang government for allegedly selling off land to “make their accounts look nice”, citing the Auditor-General’s 2012 report which he said showed that land sales contributing profits of RM200 million was the state’s main income.

“A government that relies on selling land to earn profit is a government that does not know how to draft a plan for long term economic growth, nor knows how to upgrade economic growth or enhance the income liquidity for the rakyat,” he said.

“DAP always (says) that they are performing better that BN. Is this the best they can do?” he asked.

Yesterday, Umno Penang’s Mohd Nashrol Hisham Abdullah claimed that Malays in the state are now “desperate” and are forced to buy homes in Kedah due to the alleged cruel governance of the DAP.

“In Penang, the Malays are getting more desperate. The DAP government, they are cruel... making homes there so expensive. They are trying to oust the Malays from Penang,” he said during the Umno Youth wing’s assembly yesterday.

Nasrol added that the Malays in Penang were so powerless to fight against the DAP that the only way to overcome their plight was either through direct government help, or “make more babies” to increase the Malay population against the state’s Chinese majority.

The DAP, which won Penang by a landslide in Election 2008, retained its hold for a second term on the state in the May 5 general election.